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 | Sir Winston Churchill was voted the greatest Briton of all time for his courageous dedication to the cause of freedom. This stout, elegant pen testifies to the great Briton's iron will and determination, while the pen's radiant facets reflect the light of hope he gave to his countrymen (and indeed the world) in Britain's darkest hour. The barrel is crafted of 18 K pink gold, inlaid with black and brown tortoiseshell lacquer bands. The captop is ringed with 53 precious diamonds (to commemorate the year in which Churchill was both knighted and bestowed the Nobel Prize for Literature), and the Montblanc star is of mother-of-pearl. It sold for $24,400, a new record for a Montblanc Sir Winston Churchill fountain pen at auction. |
LOS ANGELES – Bonhams & Butterfields May 23, 2011, auction of writing instruments contained more than 200 lots and offered a diverse selection of excellent fountain pens, chiefly Montblancs, including a Sir Winston Churchill fountain pen, the last of 53 produced.
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| This vintage maki-e fountain pen, depicting a bird in flight over ferns, is a No. 3 lever filled pen from the 1920s. Decorated with a black lacquer ground together with gold, red, green, brown and silver hiramakie, the pen is signed by maki-e master Shucho. This pen is not referenced major writing instrument books and appears to be rather uncommon. It sold for $3,416. |
Churchill famously preferred Montblancs and used them to sign many ocuments of great importance. This handsome example, which is fashioned of 18 karat pink gold inlaid with tortoiseshell lacquer bands, with captop ringed with 53 diamonds, is a fitting homage to the man voted greatest Briton of all time. This example was displayed in the London Imperial War Museum and was accompanied by provenance documents. The highly sought after writing instrument sold for $24,400 and established a new world record for a Montblanc Sir Winston Churchill fountain pen at auction.
Also of interest were single-owner, unused examples of some of Montblanc’s most coveted limited editions, which included 4th of July, sold for $15,860, Georges Pompidou, selling for $17,080, Rotary Centennial, selling for $7,320, John Harrison, selling for $14,640, Airbus A380, selling for $8,540, a Year of the Golden Dragon 888, selling for $7,930 and George Washington, selling for $24,400–a new world auction record, which surpassed the current record set by Bonhams & Butterfields in February 2010.
Montblancs were far from the only exceptional limited edition pens offered in Section I of the sale. Splendid examples from Caran d’Ache, Cartier, Montegrappa, OMAS, Visconti and other great makers were there as well. Highlights included an OMAS Merveille du Monde Almirante, resplendent in 18 karat gold fashioned by master Parisian goldsmith Lefebvre and limited to 30 made-to-order pieces, sold for $10,980, among others.
Section II of the May auction offered a brief interlude of fine vintage writing instruments. Especially noteworthy was a 1920s Dunhill-Namiki maki-e pen depicting a bird in flight over ferns, signed by master lacquer artist Shucho, which sold for $3,416.
The Bonham’s sale concluded with Part III that featured a variety of additional Montblanc pens including a variety of Writers Series and Patron of Art Series pens, as well as OMAS, Loiminchay, Montegrappa, Parker and Pelikan examples. Of special note is a Montegrappa Silver Dragon limited edition fountain pen and inkwell, which sold for $3,416, among others.
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